Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Determination

I love a good inspirational quote. Something to keep you going when the hard times hit."Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."Thomas A. Edison"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." H. G. Wells

When I first started off on this writing journey almost three years ago, I would curl up in bed at night with my phone, scrolling through Pinterest, looking for inspiration. I would hold on to the words until I started writing again in the morning. There was nothing I couldn't do. I would become a published author, and become a stronger person along the process. I would not let myself get bogged down by rejection. I would swallow it down, try to find a lesson, and keep on writing.

Well let me tell you something. It is easy to read motivational quotes. It is not easy to live them.

Here we are three years later from the first time I sat down and started writing a novel. I've written four complete novels, and half of two others. And based on some recent events, am starting a whole new one. Which to be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted to at first.

It's not that I hadn't had rejection before. Trust me, I don't have enough fingers and toes to count up the amount of agent, then editor rejection I have gone through. Each time, I'd cry a bit, wipe away the tears, then sit right down and write something else. But after a while, even the most determined person can get beaten down.

After a while you wonder how much of it is determination, and how much is you not being smart enough to realize this isn't the job for you. Making that decision is definitely not an easy one.

But for now, determination won out. I'm going to go through this process one more time. With help from my agent, I am crafting a book I am really excited about. Something very different than what I've been working on in the past. Something I hope will be the one to work.

So if you're so inclined. Cross some fingers for me that this book is the one that sticks. The one that becomes the first step in what I hope will be a long novel-writing career.

But at the very least, throughout all this time, I have learned one thing. No matter how hard it is, no matter how long the days feels, no matter how often the word "no" is thrown my way, I'm a lot more determined that I ever thought I could be